When people slight your drums...

dkerwood

Silver Member
We had a regional band come to lead worship at my church this morning, and the worship leader asked if it would be alright for the band to use my drumset- GMS CL series. I say no problem- I always like to hear my kit from the room.

When I show up this morning, though, the drummer is using his Mapex M. I figure he must have just decided to use his own kit after all and I go back to check on my kit back in the equipment closet. It's set up as a 5 piece (I normally play it as a 4 piece) and the toms are all set up at his angles. Evidently, he tried to use my kit and couldn't get it to play comfortably (mine is run with 2 toms to the left)... or maybe he just decided his was better.

I know I shouldn't take it as an insult, but to have someone ask to use my kit and then decide that they needed to bring theirs instead? It's a little frustrating.

More frustrating is that I had to listen to his badly tuned Mapex. :)
 
He probably busted something on your kit and had to bring his LOL. Seriously, why do you care? Is everyone in your parish this petty? Would Jesus care what someone else thought about his drums? Well, maybe that's not a good example because he would already know what you were thinking and if he even played drums they would probably be rad. My point is: stay the hell away from church!
 
I've had to use other peoples rigs before. I always used my own snares and cymbals tho and NEVER changed their set up. A lot of the time i wasn't comfortable and didn't really like it, but I had to live with it...that's just the way it goes. It's one gig and life goes on after all.

I never really liked people I don't know using my gear either (selfish bugger??....hmmm, probably) and tried to avoid it if at all possible. Personally, I'd be wrapped he used his own gear. Although it would've been nice if he at least tried to leave your kit the way he found it.
 
I dunno. These drums are really the first pro level instrument I've ever owned (as opposed to upgrading cheaper gear to pass it off as pro level gear)... so I like to show them off as much as I can. I'm very proud of them... so I'm disappointed that they weren't good enough for this guy.

Stupid? Sure, but it's just the way that I feel.
 
I wouldn't take it as an insult. Probably more like a comfort issue as you suggested.
 
Count it a blessing.
He proly would have poked a hole or two in those heads anyway. That's what happen to my Rogers kit once after I had just put a new set of blue hydros on them. I really lost my Christianity after I saw them. lol
 
I know I shouldn't take it as an insult, but to have someone ask to use my kit and then decide that they needed to bring theirs instead? It's a little frustrating.

More frustrating is that I had to listen to his badly tuned Mapex. :)

For whatever reason he chose to change his mind and not to play your kit, why should it matter?

I am shocked that you would even consider it an insult. Is the drum kit reflection of you, as a musician or a person? or worse, a status symbol?

I recently played my friend's huge Starclassic birch rock set up. Lots or drums, lots of symbols, all sounded weird to my ears.. Its a great kit, but I couldn't play it/didnt wanna play it.

I indulge in my fair share of gear talk & gear gawking, but it helps to remember, its a means to an end, not the end in itself.
 
For whatever reason he chose to change his mind and not to play your kit, why should it matter?

I am shocked that you would even consider it an insult. Is the drum kit reflection of you, as a musician or a person? or worse, a status symbol?

I recently played my friend's huge Starclassic birch rock set up. Lots or drums, lots of symbols, all sounded weird to my ears.. Its a great kit, but I couldn't play it/didnt wanna play it.

I indulge in my fair share of gear talk & gear gawking, but it helps to remember, its a means to an end, not the end in itself.

Perfect advice from Aydee. You like your kit, he likes his. You need a thicker skin, and not on your drums!
 
You know your kit's prefered over a Mapex M. I know your kits prefered over a Mapex M. But don't let it bother you. Personally, I love to drive other peoples kits, house kits, etc. Otherwise, how do you get experience? This is how I know GMS betta than Mapex M. So.....his loss. Or, to use a semi-famous term, he acted "stupidly".
 
Count it a blessing.
He proly would have poked a hole or two in those heads anyway. That's what happen to my Rogers kit once after I had just put a new set of blue hydros on them. I really lost my Christianity after I saw them. lol
People that ask to play a kit, then dent the heads, need to pay for new heads.
I agree about losing the christian values when a nimrod wants to beat and not play my kits.

I never let anyone on my kits, which may not be very christian either, but my heads are my responsibility and I would rather not share, then end up with more hassels.
 
It would have been nice if the other drummer left your kit in some way resembling how he found it, or at the least said, "Thanks, but I couldn't get it to feel comfortable, and there was no time to set it back".
At least they would have acknowledged it.

People have played my kit before on a few occasions but I have everything memory locked, and the rug has my stand placements marked too, so people adjusting things is not that big a deal.
The last time I even got a few extra bucks to cover wear on the heads, which wasn't that much really.
It meant more that it was even considered and appreciated than the amount I got.

The drummers on that gig said 'Thank you' to me, but I got more comments on how good the kit sounded from the other drummers band mates, and singers.
THAT is better (to me anyway) than another drummer saying the kit was awesome.
 
Good advice from everyone around. I think I was just expecting to hear my drums from somewhere other than the driver's seat. That initial disappointment pushed me to places I don't like to be. Thanks for keeping me grounded. :)
 
I always at least try to put the drums back to their original position, its only common curtsy. It would have been nice to hear your own kit from in the crowd, but at least nothing was damaged.
 
I dunno. These drums are really the first pro level instrument I've ever owned (as opposed to upgrading cheaper gear to pass it off as pro level gear)... so I like to show them off as much as I can. I'm very proud of them... so I'm disappointed that they weren't good enough for this guy.

Stupid? Sure, but it's just the way that I feel.

Say I owned a PRS Custom 22. Lovely guitar. I offered it to somebody for use on a gig, seeing their battered Ibanez Gio. They say they'll stick to their Gio. Does it matter? It just means that nobody is using my PRS.

Why should I be offended? Maybe they just like using their kit. I offer to loan my bass guitar to friends of mine and they're happy with their basses, even though they're not necessarily as nice. I don't see how it could possibly be an insult. If you're seeing it that way, spend either less or more time in Church and work out what's actually being said.
 
I'll usually just deal with their setup and not adjust anything. If it gets too bad I'll stick with home base(hats, snare, kick).
 
In addition to my own kit, which is very individually set up and probably crazy for anyone else to try to play, I have bought and maintained the drum sets for the churches I attend for the last five or six years.

The fact of the matter is, nobody plays any musical instrument just the same, and drums happen to be probably the most infinitely adjustable instrument available.

Sure, I may go in to rehearsal after an off week and find the church drumset looking like something out of the Tom Angles thread and tuned completely different from how I like to hear them sound, but it was my week off, and how I set up is not how everyone sets up. I only get upset if the drums were obviously abused or mistreated.

Your personal kit is just that - personal. You are right to take pride in a fine musical instrument, but given the choice between playing mine and playing yours, I would pick mine every time. And that doesn't reflect on you or your set at all.

Now, if the guy mistreated your set in getting it out of the way, that would be an issue.
 
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I wouldnt see it as a slight or an insult. To be honest I would probably be glad he decided to use his own rig. We had a group come to the church a few months back (we had just gotten our new setup) and the drummer wanted to use his gear...No prob, and after hearing him play I am glad he did... The guy beat the stew out of his "high end setup" i wanted to see his rig after the service and after seeing his "new kit" WOW the heads were terribly pitted and the Paiste Signatures he was bragging about looked horrible.

even though you may be miffed that they didnt want to use an awesome kit....remember sometimes blessings come in disguise
 
For whatever reason he chose to change his mind and not to play your kit, why should it matter?

I am shocked that you would even consider it an insult. Is the drum kit reflection of you, as a musician or a person? or worse, a status symbol?

I recently played my friend's huge Starclassic birch rock set up. Lots or drums, lots of symbols, all sounded weird to my ears.. Its a great kit, but I couldn't play it/didnt wanna play it.

I indulge in my fair share of gear talk & gear gawking, but it helps to remember, its a means to an end, not the end in itself.

Good post but I think you mispelled the bold underlined word. It should be 'simbels'
 
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